


Mac - Sleep

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Series: MacGyver Episode Tags [9]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Episode Tag, Post 2x20, Sleep Deprivation, Team as Family, and his team worries about him and tries to help however they can, mac is just a stressed peanut, sleepy!mac, this was a lot more in depth than i planned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 08:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14375124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: The opening scene of episode 2x20 inspired this fic and then it just kinda took on a life of its own.Mac's search for his dad is causing him to sleep very little. His friends try to help him out and get him to sleep, but he can't seem to get rest until he gets answers.





	1. Chapter 1

Jack didn’t even bother with the pretense of walking all around the house like he had yesterday. Jack figured that even with both him and Bozer encouraging Mac to get a decent night’s sleep, Mac probably hadn’t listened.

So, Jack was not at all surprised when he walked into Mac’s room and found him in the exact same position as the previous morning. Mac was slumped over his desk, his head resting heavily on his arm. Jack walked over to the young agent with a frown on his face. Even though Mac was currently sleeping, he still managed to look exhausted. He was pale and he had deep circles under his eyes. Plus, he was normally a fairly light sleeper and he hadn’t stirred even a little bit.

If it wasn’t for Mac’s deep breathing, Jack would be concerned for the kid’s safety. Mac gave new meaning to the phrase “sleeping like the dead”.

With a shake of his head and a sigh, Jack headed out of Mac’s room. He closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake Mac up from his much-needed sleep. Jack was slightly surprised to see Bozer sitting at the kitchen bar. He hadn’t noticed Bozer there when he’d first walked in, his worry for Mac had caused him to have a sort of tunnel vision.

“Is he still asleep?” Bozer asked as Jack walked over to pour himself a cup of coffee.

“Yes, at that damn desk again,” Jack said sourly.

“Yeah, he was there when I woke up this morning. I thought about waking him up to get him into his bed, but I decided that he needed sleep more than he needed to be comfortable. He’s gonna have back problems if he keeps this up,” Bozer said as he stood up. He walked over to the oven and pulled out a plate piled high with pancakes. He put a couple on a separate plate and handed it to Jack.

“Thanks. Back problems are going to be the least of his problems if he keeps this up,” Jack grumbled. His bad mood eased slightly after tasting Bozer’s pancakes. 

“I tried my best to get him to try to sleep,” Bozer said, sitting down again. “I even evoked the wise words of my pops. I really thought it was gonna work.”

“Yeah, don’t beat yourself up too much Boze. We both know nothing can change that kid’s mind once it’s set,” Jack said, thinking of all the arguments he’d gotten into and lost with Mac. Mac’s combination of intelligence and stubbornness meant that he rarely lost an argument. He wielded logic as a weapon and never backed down.

“I know, I just wish I knew if this was going to be all worth it. I told him that this is his dad’s weird way of saying ‘I love you’, but what happens if this is one puzzle that Mac can’t solve?” Bozer said with worry. Bozer had just voiced one of Jack’s biggest concerns. Mac had devoted so much time and energy into this search for his dad. And even though Mac pretended that he wasn’t getting emotionally invested, Jack knew better. Mac had never been able to separate his emotions. It was what made him a terrible soldier, but a great man.

“We’ll be there to pick up the pieces,” Jack said finally. He had a bad feeling that this was going to end with Mac getting hurt in some way and he wasn’t really sure if there was anything he could do to avoid it.

Their conversation stopped at the sound of a door opening. Both Bozer and Jack turned to see Mac walking towards them. He sat down heavily on the stool next to Bozer and Jack had to resist the urge to send him straight back to bed. Mac looked exhausted and Jack wondered how much sleep the kid had actually gotten.

“Well, good morning,” Jack said brightly. Mac winced at the volume of his voice, so Jack continued in a softer tone. “It is still morning, right Boze?”

“For twenty more minutes,” Bozer said, looking at their clock. Mac groaned at their teasing and stood up to get himself a cup of coffee. “No, you sit, I’ll get it,” Bozer said, pushing Mac back down and getting him coffee and pancakes.

“How much sleep did you get last night, Hoss?” Jack asked, trying to keep his tone neutral. He was watching Mac closely, so he saw how Mac hesitated before answering.

“Not as much as I should’ve,” Mac finally admitted vaguely.

“Well, that’s specific,” Bozer commented, placing Mac’s breakfast in front of him. “Did you not take my pop’s advice?”

“I did, well I tried to at least. I lay in bed for a while, but my mind just kept going back to Charles Pfeffer. Finally, I gave up pretending to try to sleep and decided to do more research. I’m not sure exactly when I fell asleep,” Mac said, taking a big bite of his food.

“Did you find anything?” Jack asked curiously. 

“No, I think he changed his name. It was pretty common back then for people to change their name to make it sound more ‘American’.” Mac said, using air quotes on the last word. “The Naturalization Act of 1906 required immigrants to document name changes. So, if Pfeffer did change his name, there should be some kind of record. But, it was easier to get false identification papers back then, so it’s possible that’s what Pfeffer did. If that’s the case, I have no idea if I’m ever going to be able to find him,” Mac finished, looking dejected.

“Hey, hey, none of that now,” Jack was quick to say. “It’s only been a day since you figured out his name. That’s a little early to be throwing in the towel if you ask me. We might have to get a little creative, but we will find him,” Jack said, emphasizing the word “we”. Mac needed to know that this wasn’t just his fight.

“Yeah, and Matty gave us the day off today, barring any catastrophes, so we can call Riley and all get together and spend the day researching,” Bozer said excitedly.

“You guys really want to spend our one day off researching a dead end?” Mac said, raising his eyebrows dubiously.

“Yes, and that way you can research all day and actually sleep in your bed tonight,” Jack said firmly. Mac looked between Jack and Bozer, a hesitant expression on his face.

“Mac, we have told you countless times that we are 100% in for the search for your dad. Let us help,” Bozer encouraged. This seemed to do the trick. Mac smiled and nodded.

“Okay, I was thinking about going back to the USC Shoah Foundation now that I have a name. I’m really hoping that Charles kept his first name. That should at least narrow down the 100,000 hours of video they have,” Mac said. “They didn’t have any records of anyone with the number of his tattoo, but it’s possible he chose not to share it.”

“Well, two sets of eyes are better than one, I’ll go with you,” Jack offered. It was definitely a long shot, but Jack had already said that he would support Mac on any crazy ideas or long shots.

“When Riley gets here, we can see what we can dig up online. Maybe we can come up with a list of last names that he was most likely to switch to,” Bozer said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Jack said enthusiastically. He took Mac’s plate and coffee cup and put them in the sink. “Let’s get going, the day’s already half over, sleepyhead.”

Mac muttered something under his breath that Jack didn’t quite catch, but he was sure that it was something snarky.

“What was that?” Jack asked as Mac stood up and put on his leather jacket. “Did you say, ‘thanks so much for the help Jack, you’re the best’?”

“That’s exactly it,” Mac rewarded his teasing with a crooked grin that made him look more awake and more like himself. He turned to Bozer before they left and said, “Thanks for your help Boze, and thank Riley for me. We’ll see you guys in a few hours.”

“Good luck, Mac,” Bozer said.

Jack and Mac got into Jack’s car and started to make their way to the USC Shoah Foundation. Mac sat with his head propped up on his hand, staring out the window blankly. Jack used the opportunity of having Mac trapped in the car to confront him about his sleeping.

“Be real with me, man, how much are you actually sleeping?” Jack said, hoping that a direct approach was the best tactic. Jack wasn’t a subtle person and Mac always saw straight through him whenever he tried.

“I’m fine, Jack,” Mac responded with a heavy sigh.

“That wasn’t what I asked,” He pointed out.

“Why did my dad make this so hard? If this is some puzzle I’m supposed to solve, then why did he make it nearly impossible to do so? I know that he thinks it’s important for me to figure this out...but I feel like I’m going crazy trying to get to the bottom of this,” Mac said in frustration. He still hadn’t answered Jack’s question, but Mac was clearly upset so Jack figured he would circle back to the sleeping thing.

“I don’t know why this is so hard, but your dad must have a good reason. And he must think that it is important that you discover the answers yourself.”

“But what if I can’t?” Mac asked softly and Jack knew that was a hard thought for him to voice.

“Your father wouldn’t have given this to you if he didn’t believe you were capable of solving it. And dude, you are the smartest person I know, and we work with a lot of smart people. So, I know that you can figure this out.”

“You’re right, it all has to mean something, right? I mean, my dad wouldn’t have just sent this to me unless it was important. It’s just frustrating not being able to figure out what it is. It feels like it’s just out of reach, like I’m missing something important. I just don’t know what that is,” Mac said, frustration still in his voice. Jack knew how much Mac hated not being able to solve a problem. And the fact that this specific problem had to do with his father was making everything worse. Jack had seen Mac like this enough times to know that they only way Mac would rest was if the problem got solved.

“Well, let’s go see if the missing link is in those video archives,” Jack said, pressing down on the gas slightly.

*****

After several hours of research, they came up with nothing. Jack finally convinced Mac to take a break for the day. Jack’s eyes were hurting from looking at the bright computer screens and his back was aching from sitting in the same position for so long. He needed food and a break and he knew that Mac did as well.

So, the two of them headed back to Mac’s house to see if Riley and Bozer had any luck.

Jack knew the second he saw Riley’s face that they hadn’t. Mac must’ve known too because his shoulders slumped slightly as he took a seat next to her on the couch. Riley and Bozer launched into a wordy explanation of everything they did, but Jack didn’t pay much attention. The bottom line was they hadn’t found any solid leads.

“We’ll keep searching though Mac,” Riley said. She was clearly bothered by the fact that she hadn’t been able to help more. “It’s only been a day, we’ll find something.”

“Thank you guys, really,” Mac said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I appreciate you trying.”

“What do you say we light the fire and order some pizza and we can brainstorm over food and beers?” Bozer suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Jack said enthusiastically.

“Yes it does, I’ll go light the fire,” Mac said, standing up before any of them had a chance to respond. He headed out onto the balcony while the other three headed into the kitchen.

“Sorry, we couldn’t find anything, Jack,” Riley said softly, looking in the direction that Mac had headed. Jack put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“It’s okay, Kiddo, thanks for trying.”

“Man, I hate seeing him like this,” Bozer said.

“We just have to stay positive, help him as much as possible, and make sure he gets some damn sleep,” Jack said. He was putting on a brave face for Riley and Bozer. In truth, he was just as worried about Mac as they were, but showing them how worried he was would only make the situation work. So he had to remain positive for all three of the younger agents.

“You’re right, I’ll go help him with the fire, you guys order the pizza,” Bozer said, grabbing two beers out of the fridge.

“Sure thing,” Jack responded and Bozer headed out onto the balcony. Riley pulled out her phone to order the pizza and Jack went and pulled two more beers out. He handed one to Riley as she hung up the phone.

“Thanks, pizza will be here in 40 minutes.”

“Sweet, I’m hungry,” Jack said lifting up his beer. Riley clicked her bottle against his and they both took a sip. Jack moved to join Mac and Bozer, but Riley stopped him.

“Jack, I just want to say...I’ve been meaning to tell you...well, just, thank you,” Riley said, stumbling over her words in a way that was unusual.

“For what?” Jack asked.

“Well, it’s just that, I understand the hole that Mac is trying to fill. I understand what it’s like to have your father leave without much of an explanation. My dad didn’t exactly disappear like Mac’s dad did...but I still understand what it feels like to grow up without a dad. But, I was lucky enough to have you. You helped fill the hole that my dad left and I know I was an ungrateful child, so I want to tell you now, that I appreciated it,” Riley said, looking at the bottle in her hand instead of at him. Jack knew that talking about her feelings was not something she enjoyed and he was touched that she had chosen to do so.

“Riles, you don’t ever have to thank me for that. We’re family and that what family does. That’s why we are all working so hard to help Mac out right now. Family helps each other, and we don’t do it for the thank yous,” Jack said.

“Still…” Riley put her drink down and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, baby,” Jack said, returning the hug. “Now let’s go see if those non-boy scouts managed to get the fire going.”

The walked out onto the balcony to find that there was a roaring fire going. Mac and Bozer were chatting casually about the possible names Charles could’ve chosen. They were going back and forth, listing out the most common last names. Riley joined in with names that sounded close to Pfeffer. Jack sat back and listened as they went over theories and ideas about how to track down Charles

40 minutes later the pizza arrived and they all dug in immediately. The conversation shifted to other topics. Jack noticed that Mac joined in a little when addressed directly, but otherwise he stared at the fire with a faraway look in his eyes.

After about an hour or so, they parted ways. Jack did his best to try to convince Mac to get some sleep. Mac promised that he would, but Jack wasn’t so sure. Knowing that there wasn’t anything he could do about it, Jack headed out.

*****

Mac tried to get some sleep, he really did. He tried to follow Bozer’s father’s advice and pretend to be asleep. He lay very still with his eyes closed and hoped that sleep would find him soon.

The only problem with this was the fact that Mac’s mind refused to shut down. His mind was constantly thinking about Charles Pfeffer, his father, and Matty. Trying to figure out how they all went together. Every few minutes, a new idea would occur to him and he’d be forced to write it down so he didn’t forget it.

All of this activity made it impossible for him to sleep, so after a couple hours of this, he gave up trying.

Mac sat up with a huff of annoyance. He was tired and really did want to sleep, but he knew that trying to continue to force himself to sleep would continue to have the opposite effect. Mac grabbed his laptop and headed out to the balcony. He really didn’t want to spend another night at his desk, so he figured a change of scenery would be good.

He sat in one of his deck chairs and propped his computer on his lap.

Then, he settled into a long night of research.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack was honestly shocked not to find Mac asleep at his desk yet again. But the relief that Jack felt quickly faded away when he looked out Mac’s window to see that he was sitting in a chair outside, his computer in hand.

“Please, please, tell me that you just woke up a little early and decided to get some research in before work. Because otherwise, I’m going to think that you were here all night,” Jack said as he walked out onto the balcony. Mac, who certainly looked plenty awake, gave him a smile as Jack approached.

“I haven’t been here all night,” Mac said, his voice a little too bright. It didn’t escape Jack’s notice that his answer was just vague enough for Mac to not consider it lying if he’d spent a few hours in his room. Which is what Jack figured had happened.

“Mac…” Jack sighed, wondering if he sounded as worn out as he felt. Sure, Jack was getting enough sleep, but emotionally he was exhausted. Watching Mac struggle with this problem was taking a toll on Jack as well.

“Jack, I’m fine, I promise. Now let’s go. Matty’s gonna start asking questions if I’m late again and I don’t really want to give her the answer,” Mac said, shutting his laptop and standing up. Knowing the argument wasn’t worth it, Jack followed Mac.

“So, did you find anything?” He asked as Mac grabbed his coat and the headed to his car. Bozer liked to get to work earlier than Mac, so he was already gone.

“Nope,” Mac said as he clipped the seatbelt. Jack could feel waves of nervous energy coming off of the younger agent. Jack had experienced Mac like this several times before when missions had required them to get little or no sleep. It was how Mac acted when he was running on pure caffeine and adrenaline. 

“Mac, maybe you should take a sick day,” Jack said. He put the key in the ignition but didn’t start the car.

“Why would I do that?” Mac asked. His voice was soft, but Jack could pick up on the annoyance in the question.

“Because I’m fairly sure you didn’t sleep a wink last night, and we both know how important sleep is to that big brain of yours. I don’t want something to happen to you because you are unfocused,” Jack said.

“I’ll be fine, now let’s go,” Mac said, his tone slightly clipped. Jack realized that he’d made a mistake when he’d appealed to Mac’s self-preservation instincts. The problem was that Mac didn’t have any. It wasn’t that Mac didn’t value himself, it was that he valued everyone else more.

“Mac, this whole team relies on you to get us out of tough spots. If you aren’t thinking straight, you might end up putting us all in danger,” Jack tried again. This time he saw Mac actually consider his words. Mac would never want to do anything to put him, Riley, or Bozer in danger.

“I can do the mission,” Mac finally said firmly. It hadn’t been what Jack wanted to hear, but he trusted Mac’s judgment enough to let the topic go.

“Okay, brother, I trust you,” Jack said and started the car. Mac relaxed against the seat with a sigh, obviously glad that the argument was over.

They drove the rest of the way in a slightly tense silence. Jack had to resist the urge to turn around and drive Mac home several times along the way. He did believe that Mac meant it when he’d said that he could do the mission, but Jack was still going to keep a close eye on him.

The arrived at the Phoenix Foundation slightly late. Matty gave them both a look, but surprisingly didn’t say anything. Instead, she just launched straight into the briefing.

“Mac? How are you with safes?”

“I assumed you mean how good am I at breaking into them?” Mac clarified. Matty nodded and pressed a button to pull up a picture of a very fancy looking safe.

“Umm, that one would take me a while, but I could do it,” Mac said, stepping forward and squinting at the safe.

“Matty, whose safe are we breaking into?” Bozer broke in curiously.

Matty started talking about a company and how they kept their unadjusted financial records in that safe. There had been unsubstantiated reports that the CEO was skimming off the top, but nothing could be proven without the ledger.

“The whistleblower who came to us said that there is a big office party tonight to celebrate the CEO’s birthday. People will be bringing their families and no one will think twice about a couple of unfamiliar faces. Our inside man will be able to get Mac and Jack into the party and hopefully, the CEO will be distracted with his party. Mac, Jack, I need you two in suits and at that party. Riley and Bozer will stay behind and help with the security system."

“Let’s go make ourselves pretty,” Jack said, clapping Mac on the back.

“Guys, let me remind you that this is a stealth mission. The plan is to get in and out undetected,” Matty warned.

“You’ve got it, boss,” Mac said as he opened the door and held it for Jack. Jack gave Matty a thumbs up and headed out of the door. Stealth missions were probably his least favorite. He’d much rather be punching people than sneaking around.

“This party better have some good food,” Jack grumbled as they headed to where they kept their suits. They used to keep them at home, but Mac and Jack only ever needed to dress up for missions, so they started keeping them in the closet with their go bags.

Jack put on his monkey suit and stepped out to find that Mac was already finished. He was leaning against the wall, staring off at nothing. His skin looked pale against the black of his suit and Jack could tell that his energy from this morning was practically gone.

“Yo, you good?” Jack asked, causing Mac to jump.

“Sorry, just thinking about how I’m going to crack that safe,” Mac said, running a hand through his hair.

“You can do this right?” Jack said. He didn’t want Mac to think that he didn’t believe in him, but he needed to know that they could accomplish their mission.

“Of course, now let’s go get some fancy hors-d'oeuvres,” Mac said with a grin.

*****

The party was exactly as fancy and as annoying as Jack thought it would be. He was grateful for when he and Mac finally made their move.

“The food wasn’t even that good!” He complained as they made their way quietly down the hall.

“Shh,” Mac whispered, turning to give him an exasperated look. When Mac turned back around, he tripped slightly over his own feet. Mac quickly regained his footing, catching a hold of the wall, but it was enough to set off alarm bells in Jack’s head. Mac was many things, but clumsy was not one of them.

“Mac, you okay?” He said quietly. Mac ignored his question and continued down the hallway. “Mac, buddy, this is the last chance to back out of the mission. The CEO will never need to know we’re here,” Jack said. He was talking freely because they weren’t wearing comms. They had gone through a metal detector on their way in. They had their phones for communications so they hadn’t risked comms.

“Jack, stop it. This is our best shot at getting into this safe. I’m fine, stop mother-henning me,” Mac snapped. His irritable tone only bothered Jack because he knew it was another sign of how tired Mac was.

“Whatever you say,” Jack said with a sigh and pulled out his phone. “Riles, we are on the top floor. Are the cameras looped?” Jack asked when she answered.

“Yes, you are good to go, and the CEO’s office should be unlocked. But a guard will be coming by in a half an hour, so you guys need to be done by then,” Riley said.

“Roger that,” Jack said and hung up the phone and set the timer. He caught up with Mac who was in front of the CEO’s office door. Mac tried the handle and smiled when it opened easily. They slid into the office and Mac went over to the painting that their informant had told them the safe was behind. He lifted it off the wall to reveal the safe.

“Looks like our info was correct,” Mac said with a relieved sigh.

“You can crack this in 28 minutes, right?” Jack asked.

“Yes, and I would do it faster if you stopped doubting me every step of the way,” Mac said, as he pulled a few tools out of his pocket. His gaze then scanned the room, doing an inventory.

“I’m not doubting you, I’m doubting your sleep schedule,” Jack responded.

“Look, would you just go keep watch, please? You can call me if anyone comes up here,” Mac said impatiently. When Jack hesitated, he continued, “Please, I just need some space to think.”

“Okay,” Jack said. He headed out into the hallway and spent 20 minutes pacing and trying not to worry. Finally, his timer hit the five-minute mark and he decided to head back inside to see how Mac was doing.

Jack immediately wished he’d come in sooner. Mac was sitting curled up against the wall, his elbows resting on his bent knees and his head in his hands. When Jack approached him, he lifted his head up and the expression on his face broke Jack’s heart.

“Hey, hey now, what’s going on?” Jack said, kneeling next to him.

“You were right, Jack,” Mac said, sounding miserable. “Something’s wrong...I can’t...I can’t think straight and my hands don’t seem to be doing what my brain tells them...I can’t do it…”

“Okay, calm down, you’re okay. You are just sleep deprived, alright? Too many nights of too little sleep. Lemme just call Matty and then we can get you some rest,” Jack said. Mac didn’t respond, just looked at his hands dejectedly. Jack stood up and walked to the other side of the room and dialed Matty’s number.

“Dalton, your time’s almost up. Do you have the ledger?” She said as soon as she picked up.

“No, Matty, we have to scrub the mission. Mac’s not gonna be able to break into the safe,” Jack said.

“Is he injured?” Matty asked, worry filling her voice.

“Not exactly, but he isn’t 100 percent. I’ll explain it later, but we have to leave now if we want to avoid getting caught. We can try again later,” Jack put as much seriousness into his voice as possible.

“Jack, this is our best shot,” Matty said, her voice rising in volume.

“I know that Matty, but he can’t do it,” Jack lowered his voice on the last part, but Mac didn’t seem like he was paying attention anyway.

“Fine, you two get your asses straight back to the Phoenix. And you’d better have a damn good reason,” Matty said curtly and then hung up.

Jack put his own phone away and then walked back over to Mac. He replaced the picture and gathered all of Mac’s gadgets, stuffing them in his pocket. Then, he grabbed Mac’s arm and pulled him to his feet.

“Come on, kid, we’ve gotta go,” Jack said, knowing that they had less than a minute before the guard did his rounds. Mac nodded and stumbled his way out of the door. Jack wrapped the agent’s arm around his shoulders and helped get him down the hallway. Mac was moving slowly and clumsily and with each step, Jack cursed himself for ever letting him out into the field.

Jack was just as to blame for this situation as Mac was, and he would make sure Matty knew that. Jack had known that Mac hadn’t been sleeping, but he’d still let him come on the mission. He should’ve forced Mac to stay home. Or told Matty so she could take him off the mission.

“I feel weird,” Mac mumbled as they finally made their way to the elevator. Jack hit the lobby button and was glad to see that Mac was managing to stand on his own two feet.

“Your brain is probably moving at the speed of an average person,” Jack tried to joke to lighten the mood.

“What?” Mac asked, Jack’s joke falling short. Jack was slightly alarmed at how quickly Mac’s sleep deprivation symptoms seemed to have appeared. Sure, he’d been showing some signs, but nothing as extreme as this. Mac must’ve been feeling horrible and somehow managed to hide the worst of it from Jack. That, plus the stressful and high-pressure situation he’d been placed in probably hadn’t done him any favors.

“All right, here we go,” Jack said, slipping Mac’s arm back around his shoulders as the elevator arrived. No one looked at them twice as they made their way out of the building. Jack guessed that it was pretty common for people to drink a bit too much at these events. He looked just like any other person helping out a friend that had a few too many drinks.

Jack helped Mac into the car and quickly sped off towards the Phoenix Foundation. He really wanted to take Mac straight home, but he knew that they owed Matty an explanation. They’d messed up a fairly simple op and Matty would have to answer for that to oversight.

“Matty’s gonna kill me,” Mac groaned, seeming to remember what had just happened.

“No, she’s gonna kill us. Mac, we have to tell her what’s going on with you,” Jack said, knowing full well what Mac’s reaction to that suggestion would be.

“No...I don’t...I know I don’t want to tell her...but I can’t remember why,” Mac said, hitting his palm against his forehead in frustration.

“Because she lied about knowing your father,” Jack reminded him gently. Sleep deprived Mac was like a combination of drunk and concussed Mac. He was clearly struggling to think clearly and his anger at not being able to was not helping the situation. “Mac, just relax, we’ll figure this out.”

Mac’s response was to groan and lean his head against the window. Jack was not at all surprised to see that a few minutes later he’d fallen asleep. Unfortunately, the mission had been in L.A. so not even ten minutes later, they’d arrived at the Phoenix.

“Mac,” Jack said, gently shaking the agent. He hated to wake him up, but they had to get to the debrief. The exhausted man didn’t stir, so Jack tried again, speaking louder this time. “Mac, buddy, you’ve got to wake up!” This time, Mac jerked awake and looked around in confusion before his eyes fell on Jack.

“Jack? Where are we?” He asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“We are at Phoenix, we have to do our debrief, remember?” Jack said, watching as Mac slowly absorbed the situation and remembered what was going on.

“Crap…” He said finally.

“Yeah, I’d say that adequately describes the situation as well as the way you look right now,” Jack said as he got out of the car and went around to open Mac’s door. Jack hadn’t been joking about the kid looking like crap. Mac was frighteningly pale and had deep circles under his bloodshot eyes. His hair and suit were also both disheveled which did not help his overall look.

Mac ignored Jack’s outstretched hand and climbed out of the car on his own. He swayed slightly before regaining his balance and starting to walk into the building. Jack quickly fell into step beside him.

It was late at night, so the building was pretty much empty as they made their way to the war room. Matty had probably released the rest of the staff for the night after the failed mission. Jack couldn’t blame them for getting the hell out of that building. What was about to go down wasn’t going to be pretty.

The windows of the war room were frosted so they couldn’t see Matty as they approached. Mac stopped just before the door and sent Jack a guilty look. Then with a sigh, he opened the door.

Matty was sitting in one of the chairs but stood up as soon as they walked in. Her eyes scanned Mac and then Jack and then back to Mac.

“What happened?” She said in a deadly quiet voice that made Jack want to flinch more than when she yelled.

“It’s my fault...I couldn’t...I couldn’t get the safe open…” Mac said, clearly struggling to get his thoughts together. Matty looked back at Jack, worry replacing some of the anger in her eyes.

“What’s wrong with, blondie?” She directed the question at him. Jack stepped forward, somehow feeling the need to protect Mac from Matty’s penetrating gaze.

“He hasn’t been sleeping well. I didn’t realize how bad it was until he couldn’t focus on opening the safe,” Jack said, knowing that the truth was the best way to go in this situation.

“He hasn’t been sleeping well…” Matty said in disbelief. 

“Yes, for a while now, and I don’t know how much he’s really been sleeping, but I know it hasn’t been enough. And I’m sorry-” Jack said but was interrupted by Matty

“You both put yourselves and the mission at risk because you didn’t think it was important to tell me that one of my agents was not at 100 percent! You guys know that this team doesn’t function well unless we have all of the information. I need to know when one of my agents is sleep deprived so I can pull him from the field!” Matty yelled, and she probably would’ve kept yelling if it wasn’t for the thud that came from behind Jack.

Jack turned around in horror to see that Mac had collapsed. Jack rushed to his side and checked him over to see if he’d hurt himself in the fall. He was relieved to see that there weren’t any signs of physical damage. He gently took Mac’s face in his hands.

“Mac?” He said and breathed a sigh of relief when Mac’s eyes fluttered.

“Is he okay?” Matty asked with concern. At the sound of her voice, Mac’s eyes shot open and he looked around in alarm.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay. You’re in Phoenix, you passed out,” Jack said and he saw Mac straining to focus and figure out what was going on. “I have to get him home, he’ll be okay after a couple days of rest,” Jack said, a challenge in his voice as he looked at Matty.

“Go,” Matty said with a nod. Jack pulled Mac to his feet and wrapped his arm around the agent’s thin waist. Mac leaned heavily against him and his head hung low. Jack was pretty sure he was the only thing holding him up. Jack put Mac’s arm around his shoulder and held it with his other hand.

“Matty…” Jack hesitated before leaving. “I’m sorry we hid this from you...but he hasn’t been sleeping because of his dad. This search for his dad, and all the unanswered questions are driving him crazy…After all, this team can't function well without all the information, right?” Jack said throwing the statement she'd used earlier back at her. And even though he didn’t say out loud that Matty’s involvement was included in those unanswered questions, they both knew that’s what he meant.

“Get him into bed,” Matty said, her voice more gentle than Jack had ever heard it before. Jack wasn’t sure what to make of that reaction, but with a half-conscious MacGyver in his arms, he wasn’t able to question it.

By the time Jack got Mac buckled into his seat, Mac was dead asleep. Jack texted Bozer and Riley what had happened and then sped off towards Mac’s house.

Bozer and Riley ran outside the second that Jack pulled into the driveway. Jack got out of the car and raised his hand in a calming gesture to the two worried agents.

“He’s okay, just exhausted. I don’t think he slept at all last night, and that combined with the numerous nights before where he didn’t get enough sleep, did him in,” Jack said, looking back at the car where Mac was sleeping.

“But he’s going to be alright?” Bozer asked.

“If we can convince him to catch up on his sleep and start sleeping normal hours, then yes, he will be fine,” Jack said, slightly dryly.

“Was Matty pissed?” Riley said.

“She was, right up until Mac passed out in the middle of her tirade. Then she was just worried. I don’t know how she’s mixed up with Mac’s dad, but it’s obvious that she really cares about Mac,” Jack said with a frustrated sigh.

“This is a mess,” Riley pointed out and Jack was inclined to agree with her.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Bozer asked.

“Well, the first thing we should do is get him into bed,” Jack said, bringing them back to the present. He and Bozer got Mac out of the car and carried him into his room. Jack knew that Mac was tired, but he was still surprised when Mac didn’t even stir the entire time. They put him to bed and Riley took off his shoes. He’d already shed his jacket and tie so they opted to just leave him in the rest of his dress clothes. They didn’t want to risk him waking up.

Riley tucked Mac in and kissed him on the forehead. Jack couldn’t help but grin at the sight, remembering the times he’d done the exact same thing for a young Riley.

The three of them headed out and Jack quietly closed the door. They made their way to the kitchen and Riley and Bozer sat down on the stools while Jack stood on the other side of the counter. The silence between them was a heavy one. Finally, Bozer broke it, asking the same question he had earlier,

“Okay, so what are we supposed to do now?”

“We use logic to explain to him that this can’t happen again. If we approach it in a manner that he’ll understand, I think we can get him to sleep fairly normal hours,” Jack said. 

"Like explain to him that quick thinking is one of the first things to go when you are tired?" Bozer offered.

“Yes exactly, and convince him that he will have a better shot at figuring out a way to find Charles Pfeffer if he's fully rested," Jack agreed. "Plus, he’s gonna feel guilty when he remembers what happened on the mission. Maybe that alone will be enough to convince him that he at least needs to sleep enough so he can do his job.”

“Did you say anything to Matty about why Mac was like this?” Riley asked.

“Yeah, I told her it was because of the search for his dad...and I may have implied that we know she’s involved somehow. So we will have to see what she does with that information.”

“Okay, can I make a suggestion?” Bozer said suddenly. When Jack and Riley just looked at him expectantly, he continued, “Can we please figure this all out tomorrow? Because it’s late and it’s been a stressful day and I’m pretty sure Mac is going to sleep for a while.”

“That sounds like a plan, but I’m crashing here,” Jack said, not bothering to ask permission. He knew that Mac and Bozer’s home was open to him whenever he wanted.

“Me too,” Riley said immediately.

“Yeah, you guys can fight over the couch and the chair. I’ll get some blankets,” Bozer said, heading off down the hall.

Jack, of course, gave Riley the couch and he took the chair. He’d slept on it before and although it wasn’t the most comfortable thing, it would do for the night.

The three of them settled down for a night’s sleep that was considerably less deep than the blond agent that was on their minds.

*****

14 hours later Mac woke up.

They explained what had happened, gave him some food, watched a movie, gave him a dose of melatonin, and then put him back to bed.

Mac, for once in his life, did not complain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special mention to all of my lovely Tumblr friends who encouraged me to write this. Sorry, it took me so long!!
> 
> Also if you want to follow me, my Tumblr is http://macspaperclips.tumblr.com/


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